Gum-kneading machine.



R. SNEDDEN.

GUM KNEADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION IILBD JAN 26.1912.

1,055,824, Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

5 SHEETS-SHEET l. 1. 1-1

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R. SNEDDEN.

GUM KNBADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION YILEDJAH.26.19I2.

1,055,824, Patented Mar. 11, 1913,

5 SHEETS-SHEET /41' TEgT SNEDDIA AT1-ms.

R. SNEDDEN.

UM KNEADING MACHINE.

APPLI CATION FILED JAN.26.1912.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

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R. SNBDDEN.

GUM KNEADING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JANJEC 1912.

1,055,824. Patented Mar. 11, 1913A 5 SHEETSASHEET 1.

h. SMUDEN.

GUM KNEADING MAFHINE.

APPLUATlON FILED Js.\'.26. 1912.

1,055,824. Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

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il@ TED STATES Parana; OFFICE.

' RCHARD SNEDDEN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

GUM-mimmo MACHINE.

specisation of Letters raient.

Patented Mar. 11, 1913.

Application filed January 26, 1912. Serial No. 673,580.

ture of chewing gum, and the invention' comprises a new and useful vmethod and means to .knead and prepare materials into chewing gum, .all substantially as herein shown and described and ymore particularly pointed out in the claims. y

In view of the elastic gumniy nature of the materials enterin l.the manufacture of chewing gum, great -difliculty is experienced in kneading and properly preparing-the same in certain stages of operations, particularly if the method involves thefuse of a machine. On this acco unt ,kneading has kheretofore been. mainly done by'hand and apart from other operations.' l

My Objectis to take the gum material as it comes from the'boiling kettles and knead and work 'it in a continuous" manner while `under forward feed and under diierent de grecs of compression and pull until it is uniformly reduced to the desired 'iineness of grain, thickness and density of body,

and elasticeonsistency for chewing gum purposes.

My object is also to provide a practical l machine which will lrnead and prepare the elastic guinmy materials as stated, and also shane and cut'the material into batches uni ofrm size and weight so that convenient Hinde'conomical working and ldivision may thereafter be accomplished to producefthe small and thin sticks' for the final market.

Ip the `accoinpanying drawings, vFigure 1 is iside elevation of my improved machine on a small scale, :ind Fig. 2 is ,a longitudinal sectional view thereof enlarged as compared with Fig. l, a port-ion being eliminated to permit other essentialsto be shown on the single sheet. Fig. 3 is a plan View. Figli is across section of the machine on line 4,-1, Fig. 2. Fig. is a cross section on line 5 5, Fig. G is an end elevation of the cutter and roller end of the machine, Fig. 7 is a detail-View of the cut ter frame.

Now defining details and functions of the invention, the machine consists of a suitable base 2 and upright frames 3 and 4 upon which the working parts are mounted. Thus, beginning with the kneadi'ng'niember -5, I employ a cylindrical casing 6 on frame 60 4 within which said member is free tobe rotated by power applied to pulley 7` on main shaft -8 and through pinion 9 in mesh with ear 10 on the stub shaft 11' of said memb r 5. The inner portion 12 of shaft 11 65 is octagonal in cross section-to secure "a se-I ries of collars 14 thereon, eajch of which have a single'radial vblade 15 provided lwith a beveled face 16 and a cutting edge '17,

whereby the material entered "through l-hoplper 18 may be worked forward andat the same time twisted, mixed and lmeaded,--a result further augmented by the radial disposition of the respective blades l5 spirally about shaft 11, Member 5 and its `shaft 11 75 is provided with a ball .tliru'stberii'igl19'to-f. minimizefriction-and promote easier operation.- Member .5 also comprises .a screw 20in advance of blades 15, the spirallthreof being of corresponding lead to tha-tief `the blades, and this screw works .closelyjyvithincylindrical casing -6 and has'l'a' r'ducedfend 21 projecting `part-way into" thet-aperiiig outlet cap 22 which'is bolted to the front end ofcasirig. The intake opening l123.6 ffcap is circular to correspond tothe eylir'idrii` cal bore of .casing 6, whereas its outlet end is of' an elongated form to flatten the outgoing material so that thesame may more readily he further flattened by theA rollers 24 before cutting it into predetermined lengths by :reciprocating cutter 25."l As shown, the mouth or o'pening'26 of the cap 22 is also slightly reduced in size (inthe agcjrclfate as com ared with intake. o )eninT i. I: b

thread or worm of uniform outside diameter substantially its full length, and with ample width of groove between the. thread, but which groove is gradually deepened toward cap 22, the object being to hold a gradually-increasingamount of material; to

effect proper kneading; to prevent overcrowding; and to obviate twisting of the material Y. as" it` issues from'gthe mouth 26. Briefly, the depth of the helical groove of screw 20 is less where eirposed.4 to the incomv ing material at hopper 18 than at the outlet end of the cylinder 6 where joined with cap 22, and therefore, the material crowded vback at the tapering outlet will be amply accommodated in the groove and not prevent the l'meading action which the screw action.` The'relation of the hopper 1 8 to the screw 2O also has vitalbearin -in obtainingA effective kneading and fee ing operations, particularly with materials having elastic and gumi'ny, characteristics, and for that reason, saidk hopper, istangentially arranged in respect toV cylinder 6 to bring the material ,into the same at one side of the kneading member., Otherwise, an, interrupted irregular feed and consequent imperfect kneadng. will result, particularly if the hopper is centrall disposed in respect to said member. The e astio gummy nature of the material also requires a more or less forced feed of the material through the hop- .pei to the lmeading member, which in the present instance,is obtained by a presser or plunger. 27 of considerable weight adapted to" slide upon the inclined wall '28 of the 30 hopper 18 and pivotally chnected to hand lever 29 which is hinged to the top of vertical wall 30.`` The plunger is thus also tangentially related with member 5,-thereby promoting positive `and uninterrupted feed of tlieXmaterial thereto. The' end 31 of plu er` 27 is curved to conform ,to the roun ed screw and blade-ends to permit the plunger jto come down finall into close ',:workin relations therewith. linder 6 is olongitu inally divided into two parts on a line which bisects the axis of member 5 at l annclination, the upper part 32 having the hopper' fastened thereto and being hinged to the lower part 33 by lugs 34 so that the 4'5 kneading member may be fully expose-d p when the upper part is vswung down. The parts are loc ed together by swingbolts 35.

It is important that the flattened kneaded product be carried away at substantially the so same rate of travel at which it issued from mouth. 26; that it befurther flattened before being cut into lengths; and that all the cut portions shall have equal length and :the

same amount of material therein in order 55 that the further division of the material into standard strips may be accurately and eco- Y nomically obtained. Therefore, the endless is designed to give in addition to its feeding' on cam' shaft 40 having bearing in frame/3.

A sprocket chain 41 vstretched between sprocket wheel 42 on shaft 40 and a sprocket wheel 43 on shaft 44 drives the lower roller of the pair of rollers 24 at a predetermined speed, and a second sprocket chain 45 stretched between a small sprocket wheel46 on shaft 44 and a relatively larger sprocket wheel 47 on transverse pulley shaft 48 drives conveyer 36, the speed of rotation of the rollers being preferably faster than conveyer 36. Said conveyer is supported by a pair of pulleys 49 mounted on traiisverseishafts which rotate in bearings 50 having slidable sleeved engagement with a pair of threaded rods 51 connecting frames 3 and 4, nuts 52 being employed at either side of the bearings 50 to adjust and set the rollers at fixed distances apart, and thereby also affording of the conveyer as the needs require, tov prevent backing up and buckling .of the travelingmaterial as it is reduced to a thinner strip or body. Rollers 24 discharge the flattened material directlyy into a short tube 54 arranged coincident with across passage 55 inthe vertically-fixed channeled guide 56 for reciprocating. cutter frame 57,-a 'crossl Wire 25 serving as,l the cuttingrmemberfor the material. This wire 25 is preferably inclined transversely on frame 57' to give a* shearing cut and may be tightened by any suitablemeans, such as a thumbscrew 58 as shown and wherein the wire passes centrally through the milled head at the top where al knot is formed orother enlargement' rovided for the wire adapting rotation o the screw without twisting the wire. Timed operation of cutter frame 57 is obtainedby a grooved cam memberf59 axedgto cani shaft 40, a roller 60 on the lower end r1 d arm 61 of the said frame riding .in t e cam groove. o

In vmethod and operation, the material consisting of chicle, sugar v and other ingredients, is constantly fed. into the hopper 18 in batches as received from the boiling lkettles, the material being in a spongy condition and having a temperature of about 200 F. Moreover it is more or less porous and of coarse grain to begin with, and the object is to reduce this spongye material while hot into a solid mass of finer grain by cutting, kneading and compacting it in a continuous manner under a forcefeed, and then without be understood that the lmotori t and is 'best worked while hogfan although greatlyl compacted when it issues from month 26, the elastic rx 'vc nature of the material will itself unless revented by forward 'pqllfand for which tter purpose I provide'the conveyor 36 and rollers 24 running at predntermin speeds` In other words, the of the os'et' conveyor is regulated to of the material to swell member 5, and is especially constant ull on the material'iii-'ib travel. he length ofvthcconveyeras defined by the distancebetweeuthc mouth 26 24, is also a factora producing a product of uniform consistency, thickness and weight at the cutter 25, and particularly when considered in its relation tothe rollers 24 which are also designed yto. m11 and stretch the material and give a eroe-feed thereof to the cutter 25 by rotating-at an increased speed as compared with the travel of the conveyor.

in View of the foregoing, itwill be seen that my invention comprises an operative apparatus und method for working materials, which so far as I know an believe,

vsind ca designed te 'bm faster than the feed of the screwto exertsv involve such novelty and importance as t0 mark a distinct step in the pro of the art of making chewing gum, an the claims forming art hereof are therefore entitled to a br and liberal construction.

What I'elaimis:

1. A gum kneading machine comprising a casing having a tangential intake at its side and a hopper with an inclined wall leading to said intake and a lunger in said hopper to' force the materia into said intake, and hand controlled means to operate said plunger, in combination with a knead ing mechanism rotatably mounted within comprising a series of spirally arranged b ades and a compacting feed screw next succeeding said blades and partially exto said intake.

2; In .a gum kneadin' and a hopper having a tom into e side of said casing, a rotatable kneading member in said casing exposed to said intake and a series of radially and spirally disposed feed blades in advance of said lmeading member,fin combination with a plunger operative within said hopper on a lane tangential to said kneading member.

n testimon whereof I alix my signature in presence o two witnesses.

y RICHARD SNEDDEN.

machine, a casing Witnesses:

E. M. Fianna, F.' C. MUssUN.

ischarge at its botv 

